Mathematical Preparation of the Technical Work Force Report of a Workshop (1995) / Chapter Skim
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REPORT OF THE WORKSHOP
REPORT OF THE WORKSHOP
Pages 21-28
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From page 21... ...
The Workshop initiated a dialogue between the mathematics and technical education communities on appropriate mathematics education for the technical work force and what needs to happen to implement it. Perhaps surprisingly, the Workshop produced strong agreement on the basic principle embodied by the NCTM Standards and Everybody Counts: that all students, regardless of their aspirations, need to learn a substantial core of mathematical content and skills.
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From page 22... ...
However, workshop participants agreed that in practice tracking is harmful. Perhaps the biggest problem, they noted, is that the tracks are inexorable: once on one track, it is nearly impossible to move to another.
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From page 23... ...
Workshop participants observed that many nations offer a single mathematics program for all students. "In Australia," noted Margaret Vickers, a project director at TERC, "we don't let anybody go.
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From page 24... ...
But schools are run for the local universities. The world is upside down in many respects." As an example of misplaced priorities, several workshop participants pointed out that the high school mathematics program typically points toward calculus and specifically the calculus of exponential and trigono metric functions, when such content is irrelevant for the vast majority of students.
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From page 25... ...
Through computers, videos, and CD-ROMs, teachers can employ actual data found in work situations in order to present mathematics problems. But some workshop participants cautioned against teaching mathematics exclusively through applications.
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From page 26... ...
"If you didn't make the right choices in tenth grade, you're out for a lifetime," said Shari Coston. But participants warned that a system in which all students study a core curriculum risks closing options for some students, particularly those who might want to pursue advanced mathematics.
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From page 27... ...
Moreover, said David Boesel, acting director of the Department of Education's National Institute on Postsecondary Education, Libraries, and Lifelong Learning, the pressure to maintain a college path will only intensify with the current drive to · THE WAY IN WHICH MATHEMATICS · TRADITIONALLY HAS BEEN TAUGHT SAPS STUDENTS' BELIEFS IN THEIR OWN MATHEMATICAL ABILITIES.
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From page 28... ...
They have been effective advocates for tech-prep, but have not yet spoken out in the same way for mathematics reform, said James McKenney, director of economic development for the American Association of Community Colleges. The most important step in advancing reform, participants agreed, is opening up dialogue among all of these groups and giving each of them the opportunity to shape the agenda.
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